Monday, 11 December 2017

Grey has got to be one of my favourite colours for a baby and their nursery. It's an easy colour to work with and is perfect for either a baby boy or baby girl which makes it a great safe gift option for a baby shower when you don't know yet the gender of the baby!

Take a look below for more inspiration and don't forget to have a look at my Colour Gift Guide for more gift ideas.

Saturday, 29 November 2014

As soon as I saw this gorgeous flannel I knew that it would make for the softest of bibs. And this style of bib is not only perfect for a dribbling baby they are also very suited to a teething toddler! Made with a layer of 100% cotton flannel, three of which also have the wonderful look of herringbone wool weave, and backed with a layer of organic cotton fleece these bibs are soft to the touch making them extremely comfortable to wear. And made with only cotton fabrics no polyester in sight you can be confident that you are putting only the kindest natural fabrics next to your babies delicate skin. In lovely Autumnal colours they can be found here in my shop.

We are back from our very windy camping holiday and I have just about got on top of the laundry and are packing away the last of our camping gear. Apologies to all of you that were hoping this was a 'Shops Back Open' post. That will, I promise be happening soon.

It really does feel like the countdown to returning to school has begun. The last few days have been filled with hair appointments, shoe shopping and the buying of school uniform. My mind has been a whirl of navy and grey clothes interspersed with images of kids winter coats, like the ones above! I don't know if it is just my children but none of them are keen coat wearers! But seeing as we walk to school and live in one of the wettest places in the UK a coat is a very necessary part of their uniform so I am determined to find the perfect one. It needs to keep them waterproof, warm but also, and probably the most important thing, allow movement so they can play freely. So yes as you can see this dilemma is taking up very valuable time and energy, time and energy that I really want to be channelling into my work, so I really need to find this perfect coat soon!!

Tuesday, 12 August 2014

I've been flicking through Boden's Autumn range for kids and have fallen head over heels in love with their new signature bird print. It has left me wondering 'would it be cruel to dress my daughter head to toe in birds'! I am guessing it probably would be a little too much to dress her in matching bird top and leggings and then finish off the outfit with the bird wellies, but I am very tempted! And lets not forget Boden's bright green bird raincoat that I spotted when they had their preview. So you never know, you might just see a little girl flapping around disguised as a bird this Autumn!

I buy fabric for lots of different reasons. Often for work, sometimes for a project for myself and family, and just recently I have been buying for dressmaking, something that I am very keen to get started on though haven't quite found the time yet! And sometimes I buy fabric because I just can't resist it! Sometimes I have no idea what I am going to do with the fabric but have an overwhelming sense of needing to have the desired fabric in my stash! And that is probably the reason why my fabric stash never seems to go down! As well as buying too much fabric I also like to have a good browse on line at all the latest fabrics and there are many good fabric collections around at the moment. So I thought I would show you a few of my favourites. And each one nicely fits into one of my categories of reasons to buy fabric! September Blue I can imagine making my daughter something out of it,Bye bye bird is a lightweight fabric making it perfect for dressmaking,Siamese Cats is something a little different and would probably be one to sit in my stash for awhile waiting for that perfect project andThe shape of Spring - Line up is a fabric that I can imagine incorporating into my work.Talking of work, 'A Crafty Hen' is currently closed while a take some time to play with my children, rest my poorly back and also to catch up with some custom orders, but I do hope to be back open very soon.

Monday, 12 May 2014

I blame it on the mixed weather we have been having of late and the fact that I still seem to leave the house everyday wearing my rain coat that I find myself so in love with this sweet and colourful rain mac from Boden's Autumn range. Sorry yes I did just say Autumn!! Terrible isn't it, we haven't yet experienced summer, but here we are being shown Autumn! I haven't even thought about the fact that my children will need shorts and rash vests for long days spent on the beach but here I am already window shopping for when the days grow cooler and the leaves change colour and start to fall! I'm sure if the weather predictions are right and that we do enter into a 'mini' heatwave at the end of the week all thoughts of rain and coats will be forgotten, but for now I will allow myself to get excited by the prospect of my daughter wearing this coat!

And
while we are on the subject of Boden's Autumn collection I spotted this
'bird' tunic another must for my little one, and staying on a bird theme I also spotted this women's trench
coat. I must say this doesn't excite me as much as the girls mac and I'm not
sure if I am on my own here but I really wish they did the green bird
coat in adult sizes as I would quite happily wear it this Autumn in the rain!

Friday, 9 May 2014

A Crafty Hen has had an extra flurry of interest over the last couple of days and it was so lovely to find the traffic had come from here a lovely Spanish blog called Eternamente Flaneur. This lovely blogger has included three of my Storage baskets, my yellow 'Free as a Bird' baskets and also my Black and White basket in two lovely storage and nursery combination ideas. It's so nice to see people visualizing my work in this way. I just wish I could cut my images out as well as she has done!!

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

I'm a great admirer of Orla Kiely's work, there is little that she does that I don't covet! From her bags and purses to her HeatTech collection with Uniqlo, to her reusable shopping bags with Tesco's I am an avid fan. So when I read last year that Orla Kiely was bringing out her first ever shoe collection with Clarks I was very excited! And the capsule collection containing six key styles doesn't disappoint. The use of Orla's patterns and retro colours have produce timeless vintage style shoes with a modern twist, and the attention to detail as ever looks amazing. As Clarks say, she is 'The Queen of Prints'! I adore the green 'Maltida' sandals but unfortunately I just don't 'do' heels! So her mustard Mary Janes are much more my thing. If only I could think of an occasion that I need them for or reason to justify buying them other than, I just really want them!

Last year the thing that I got asked the most was 'Could I please make my storage baskets in a larger size!'. So I took ...

Hello and welcome!My name is Jenny and I'm the maker behind the label 'A Crafty Hen'. This is my blog where I document my work and share things that inspire me in my everyday life. It is also the place where I like to share other items made by hand that I find.